Unit 1 Earth: Note 1 Earth's Systems Notes

What do humans need to survive: water, oxygen, shelter, food

What are the four Earth systems: atmosphere, biosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere

atmosphere: comprised of air

biosphere: comprised of any and all living organisms

lithosphere: comprised of the solid earth, minerals, metals, rocks, ore

Hydrosphere: comprised of Earth’s liquid, solid, and gas water

Anthroposphere: comprised of humans

Name the two types of systems: open system, closed system

Open system: where matter and energy comes from outside the system, where the stock can leave the initial system, no loop

Closed system: where the matter and energy is only transferred within the system, where the stock never leaves the initial system, has a loop

Name the three parts of a system: Stock, Reservoir, Flux/Flow

Stock: the material being exchanged and tracked through a system

Reservoir: a place where the stock is held or stored for a period of time

Flux/Flow: how the rate of transfer (of the stock) is quantified

Inflow/outflow analysis: studying what happens to the system when the rate of transfer is changed

When inflow > outflow: increase of stock in reservoir

When inflow=outflow: continuous flow in reservoir, constant rate of transfer

When inflow < outflow: decrease of stock in reservoir

Feedback Loop: the process of an output of a system becoming an input to the same system, causing the system’s behavior to change based on the results it produces

Balancing Loop: negative, holds a system to an equilibrium state and makes it more stable. The state at the beginning should be the state at the end

Reinforcing Loop: positive, moves a system away from equilibrium and makes it more unstable. The state at the beginning should be different from the state at the end